Chris Atkinson

Date of Birth: 30 November 1979 

Place of Birth: Bega, New South Wales, Australia

Lives: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and Monaco, France

Co-Driver:  Stéphane Prévot

Marital Status: Single

Education: Bachelor of Commerce (Majoring in Finance and Accounting), Bond University, Queensland

Hobbies: Running, gym-training, jet-skiing, wake-boarding

Rally Debut: 2000 - 2002 ARC Privateer Champion, 2003 and 2004 Asia Pacific Super 1600 Champion, 2004 2nd Australian Rally Championship, 2005 World Rally Championship WRC Debut Sweden

Comment:

Rallying is in Chris’ blood. Having tried most other sports and put them all on hold for an academic degree, he returned to rallying after the need for speed proved just too great a pull. The Australian excelled at rugby, football, running and tennis whilst a kid growing up in New South Wales, but from an early age developed a love of rallying after watching his father compete in the New South Wales Championship.

In 1995, he was awarded an academic scholarship to Bond University, putting his motocross thrills and spills on hold to complete a commerce degree. With a clear path into the world of stockbroking laid before him, Chris opted for a work environment that involved pedals and a steering wheel, and his return to motorsport was sealed.

Starting as a co-driver alongside his brother, he soon realised he was happiest behind the wheel, and the brothers swapped places permanently. Chris clinched the Asia Pacific Super 1600 Championship in 2003 and 2004, and signed with the Subaru World Rally Team at the end of 2004 to make him the first full-time Australian driver in the WRC. An early indication of his maturity and potential, finishing fifth overall in a Group N car on his WRC debut at Rally Australia is a record that still stands, the highest finish in the event’s 17 years on the WRC calendar.

Having led in Australia in 2006, finished just shy of the podium on Rally Japan the same year, and now with numerous stage wins under his belt, Chris enters this exciting third season with the team hungry for success. 

Career history:

2007: Seventh place, World Rally Championship
2006: Ninth place, World Rally Championship
2005: Atkinson made his SWRT debut in Rally Sweden, also his first ever experience of a snow rally. On a year of learning many of the WRC’s unique surfaces, he shone on the events he had experience of, achieving his first podium on Rally Japan. He finished 12th in the World Rally Championship.
2004: Atkinson won three of the six rounds in the Australian Rally Championship, finishing second overall. He also won the Asia-Pacific Super 1600 Championship for a second time. He won in Group N in the WRC round in Australia, and was fifth overall, the highest Group N finish in the event’s 17 year history. To cap the year off, Atkinson signed with the Subaru World Rally Team.
2003: Atkinson debuted in the Asia-Pacific Super 1600 Championship, winning the first round in Canberra and going on to win the championship. His performance also saw him fifth overall in the Asia Pacific Championship.
2002: Entered in Group N, Atkinson won in his first full season in the Australian Privateers’ Cup
2001: Atkinson competed in his first major rally, in the Queensland Rally Championship. With fewer than 80km of experience, he won his class and finished third overall.
2000: Atkinson took the wheel of a 1972 Toyota Corolla from brother Ben for the final round of the Queensland Rally Championship, having spent a few rallies in the co-driver’s seat